358: Find Your Community and Follow Your Passion - Interview with Thien-Kim Lam

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing my dear friend Thien-Kim Lam.

Thien-Kim writes stories about Vietnamese characters who smash stereotypes and find their happy endings. She and I first connected at an entrepreneurship event and instantly bonded over our love of books and our penchant for challenging the status quo of our respective industries.

Thien-Kim is also the founder of Bawdy Bookworms, a subscription box that pairs sexy romances with erotic toys (featured on NPR, BBC America, and NBC). Plus, she also writes about multicultural parenting at I’m Not the Nanny and has been featured on NBC News Asian America, BBC World, and NPR’s All Things Considered. Plus, she has written for Momtastic, YourTango, Frolic, NBC News, and other outlets.

Happy Endings is her debut novel and we’ll be discussing it today. Quick heads up before we dive in: when friends like us get together and start chatting about a sexy rom-com featuring a protagonist who sells sex toys… things might go in a non-PG-rated direction. So if you’ve got kiddos hanging around, now might be a good time to put in some headphones. And if listening to two girlfriends talk about steamy romance and sex toys is not your jam… well, you have been warned.

Okay folks, without further ado, I am super-excited to introduce you to my friend Thien-Kim!

 

In this episode Thien-Kim and I discuss:

• Why she chose to begin her novel with tension between the main love interests.
• Giving her protagonist a unique career and how that strengthened the character.
• What she learned from having to relaunch her business after pivoting.

 

Plus, her #1 tip for writers.

For more info and show notes: diymfa.com/358